A Savior in Disguise
by that-slytherin-bitch
Summary: A lot has changed in the 22 years that have taken place since the Final Battle. Ron and Hermione are married, but have no money. Hermione is reduced to answering an ad placed in the Daily Prophet for a maid. Rated M just in case. Eventual Dramione.OOC
1. Chapter 1

Hermione sighed and pulled her cloak over her head, hiding her face. It wouldn't help her at all to be recognized here and being recognized was something that Hermione had, unfortunately, become far too accustomed to. After the second Wizarding War, the Golden Trio was lavished with fame and fortune that was, at least for Hermione, not wanted at all.

"Fame is a fickle friend," Hermione muttered as she trudged along the dark alleyway.

A lot had changed in the 22 years that has passed since the end of the Second Wizarding War. Harry and Ginny were married immediately after. Something changed in Harry during the final battle. Turning himself over to Voldemort with the expectation that it was the last thing he would ever do made Harry see that he had to stop pushing away those who loved him. He realized that being with Ginny was worth the risks that were involved.

After the battle ended and the dead had been laid to rest, Harry took Ginny in his arms and asked her to marry him. They had a somber ceremony. There was much to celebrate, but everyone's minds were still on the loved ones lost in the battle. The loss of Fred was still raw in everyone's hearts.

After the wedding, Harry went to work for Kingsley as an Auror. Ron went along with him, as he was by Harry's side for most of that year, hunting for horcruxes and fighting. Harry rapidly worked his way to the head of the Auror department and now makes quite a handsome salary. Ginny went back to Hogwarts to finish her 7th year under Headmistress McGonagall.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were each given honorary NEWTS in all of their studies and they were all offered jobs high up in the ministry after the war. Much to no one's surprise, Hermione declined the offer and joined Ginny back at Hogwarts to properly finish her 7th year. Even though Ginny was married to Harry, she declined having her own suite with him in the castle to return to the Gryffindor dormitory and spend her last year with Hermione.

Throughout the year, Ron and Hermione talked and nursed their new relationship. It was hard being apart, but the two were so happy that they were finally together that they worked through the little problems that arose. Shortly after the girls finished their time at Hogwarts, Ron and Hermione were married as well. The ceremony was small, like Ginny and Harry's and was held at the Burrow. Hermione and Ron got a small house next to Ginny and Harry's in Godric's Hollow.

Hermione got a job with a department of the Ministry that worked to ensure that all non-human magical beings were treated fairly. This included, not only house elves, but giants, centaurs and goblins as well. The job did not pay well, but that was a minor detail as far as Hermione was concerned, seeing as how they were showered with wealth after the war and since Ron made almost as much as Harry at the ministry. Much to Ron's delight, Ginny was immediately signed with the Chudley Cannons as their seeker. She led the Cannons in their first winning season in centuries.

Seven years after the war, Ginny became pregnant with her first child. She and Harry named him James Sirius and he turned out to be a lot like his namesakes, always getting into trouble and going on "adventures." The following year, she became pregnant with her second, Albus Severus. At the same time, Hermione became pregnant with her first, Rose. She started working from home in order to raiser her daughter. Two years later, both girls were pregnant again, Ginny with Lily Luna and Hermione with Hugo. Before they knew it, they were standing at King's Cross shooing their kids away on the train to Hogwarts. Both families were immensely happy and thought that they were going to stay that way forever.

Hermione snorted harshly as she thought of those days. Little did she know then, Ron wasn't doing well at the ministry at all. Actually, he was doing quite horribly. He and Harry were assigned on different teams within the Auror Department, and, as it turned out, Ron really didn't amount to much of an Auror without Harry. Without letting Hermione know, he quit his job at the ministry and began spending their savings. Ron had grown quite accustomed to living the lifestyle of the rich and famous and even though they had a small fortune put away from their winnings after the war, he spent it rather quickly and Hermione's salary was meager, at best.

Had she known, Hermione thought bitterly, she would have gone back to Kingsley and begged to have an Auror job or something. She was certainly qualified. Unfortunately, by the time Hermione found out about Ron's debts and lack of job, it was too late. When Hermione went to Kingsley, he reluctantly turned her away. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley. I simply do not have any openings. This economy is hurting us all."

Hermione sighed once more and pulled the crumpled ad from the Daily Prophet out of her cloak pocket. "Housekeeper needed. $100 galleons per week." She had written the author right away asking for a job. She couldn't believe her luck when she received the reply owl not even hours after she sent hers. The reply was short. "Mrs. Weasley, I would be glad to hire you to clean my manor. The only people who live here are my son, my aging mother, and myself. Please come by on Monday morning to start. I will be expecting you at 8am sharp. Sincerely, M."

She was a little leery that the owner of the manor had not signed his full name, but she couldn't afford to be picky right now. She couldn't believe what she was reduced to, but she couldn't let her family suffer. Rose and Hugo had no idea what was going on; they were safe away at Hogwarts until Christmas. Hermione Weasley was not too proud to clean someone else's house. She would do whatever it took to help her family.

She was stopped in front of the towering manor, when suddenly it dawned on her where she was. Her heart was pounding and she was just about to turn around and run away as fast as she could when the manor doors opened. Out stepped a tall, lanky man with tired grey eyes and platinum blonde hair.

Draco Malfoy looked down at Hermione and sneered, "Well, if it isn't Hermione Granger."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I got a request to make the paragraphs shorter. I will go back and edit Chapter 1 to fulfill this request. Thanks for the suggestion! This is my first fanfic ever, so I really appreciate any feedback! Thanks to Dianafefe1 and JessWeasley for being my first two reviewers ever!  
**

Hermione burst through the front door angrily. It was close to 6 o'clock and she had just stomped pretty much the entire way home from the closest apparition point near Godric's Hollow. To add insult to injury, it was raining.

"Today can't get worse," Hermione grumbled as she hung her dripping cloak on the wall by the door. Hermione kicked off her muddy boots and made her way into Ron and her modest home. "A cup of tea would be absolutely lovely right now," she thought to herself.

She could hear the sound of the television coming from the sitting room. Ron had taken an interest in the television since Hermione insisted on having one when they first moved in together. Hermione made her way into the kitchen to start the tea. When she reached the cupboard, she noticed that there were not any clean mugs. Hermione sighed to herself as she turned to the very full sink. "Ron!" Hermione yelled, "Didn't I ask you to clean up the kitchen while I was at work today?" Hermione made her way into the sitting room without waiting for an answer.

She found Ron cackling to some sitcom, sitting with a bucket of fried chicken between his legs. Ron grabbed another chicken leg and muted the TV. "Did you say something, Hermione?" Ron asked through a mouthful of chicken.

"Do you not remember me asking you to clean up the house while I was gone today? If you're not going to have a job, the least you can do is help around here."

Ron looked at her, holding the half-eaten chicken leg halfway to his mouth. "I was just about to go in there. You're home rather early," Ron countered accusingly.

"Ronald, it is after 6. What have you done all day?"

"After 6? I had no idea. I really…"

"Are you telling me that all you have done today is watch TV?" Hermione interrupted.

"Well, when you put it that way...," Ron mumbled. Hermione rolled her eyes and left the sitting room.

Hermione sighed and retreated to the kitchen where she _Scourgified_ a mug and poured herself a steaming cup of tea. Hermione had her tea black, without sugar, the same way her dad did. It reminded her of when she was younger. Things were much simpler then.

Hermione sighed and thought back on her day. Ending up at Malfoy Manor was really a shock. She mentally chided herself for being so careless. As soon as Malfoy opened the door, Hermione subconsciously stood up straighter.

"Well, if it isn't Hermione Granger." Malfoy drawled.

"You know that my name's Weasley now," Hermione fired back.

"Granger suits you much better than Mrs. Weasley, and I can't just call you 'Weasley,' it would be too easy to get you confused with your weasel of a husband."

How dare he? Hermione was just about to turn around and head back home when Malfoy leaned against the door frame and smirked.

"Speaking of your husband, I hear that he is no longer working at the Ministry. Finding that he isn't much without Potty?"

Now he has done it, she thought. Hermione stomped up the walk, fuming.

"You will NOT talk to me that way, Malfoy! And if all you're going to do is ridicule me, you can find yourself another housekeeper!"

Malfoy's eyes hardened.

"In case you have forgotten, _Granger_, you replied to my ad. Which leads me to my next question. Why are you looking for a housekeeping job anyway? The _Golden Trio_," Malfoy spat, "were given quite a handsome sum of money. I would know. I had to pay quite a bit of it."

Yeah, that's true, Hermione thought. If my husband weren't an idiot, then I wouldn't be here right now.

Instead she said, "My financial state really isn't your business, Malfoy. And don't start acting like you didn't deserve what the Ministry decided for you. You're lucky that you didn't end up in Azkaban for everything that you did!" Hermione retorted. "And besides, why do you need a housekeeper anyway? Don't you have an assortment of house elves that you force to do your work for you?"

Malfoy raised his eyebrows.

"Actually, my house elves are all on vacation right now."

Hermione was visibly taken aback by this admission. The Malfoys have always been known to have many house elves. It was also fairly well known that the Malfoys treated their servants only a little better than the scum that they wiped from their boots. Why would Malfoy send his house elves on vacation? Hermione's eyes narrowed. He must be lying about it, she thought. Maybe he can't afford to keep them anymore. Then how could he afford to hire me for 100 galleons per week?

Malfoy interrupted her thought process by snapping his fingers.

"Are you planning to come in, or are you going to stand there glaring at my daisies all day long?" Hermione sighed, mustered up all of the dignity that she had left and walked into Malfoy Manor.

She shuddered as she walked through the Manor. The last, and only, time she had been here, she was tortured by Malfoy's aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange.

Malfoy cleared his throat and said "I actually will not require you to clean this room. You can steer clear of it if it is uncomfortable for you to be in here." Hermione snapped her eyes up trying to read Malfoy's expression. She could see nothing in his eyes. Admittedly, his eyes did not look kind or taunting. His expression was rather removed.

Hermione swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat

"Malfoy, the war was a long time ago. I think I can clean in here without any problems."

Malfoy eyed her suspiciously.

"Have it your way then. Like I said in my letter, my mother, my son, and I are the only people who live here now. My son, Scorpius, is away at Hogwarts until Christmas. If I remember correctly, he is in the same year is your daughter. Rose is it?"

Hermione sighed, "Yes, Rose and Scorpius are in the same year. I was very sorry to hear about your father's death. I read about it in the Prophet a few months back…"

Hermione's voice faltered. She didn't know whether Malfoy and his father were even on speaking terms before he died.

Malfoy's eyes turned dark and he looked out the large window to the expansive grounds.

"My mother keeps to herself. If you see her, you are to speak to her cordially. Do not try to start a conversation with her. She is taking Father's absence rather hard." Hermione had to restrain herself from asking Malfoy why he spoke of his father this way.

Instead she asked the question that had been on her mind since they were standing in the front entryway of the Manor.

"Why did you send your house elves on vacation?"

Malfoy swiftly turned around and placed Hermione under a scrutinizing glare.

"It was my father who treated our servants like vermin. Ever since I have been the man of the house, the help has been paid and also take regular vacations. With mother keeping to herself, I need a little extra help keeping the Manor fit to live in."

It was then that Hermione realized that Malfoy was avoiding another obvious subject: Scorpius's mother. Hermione knew that Malfoy married Astoria Greengrass shortly after the war. In Hermione's opinion, the pairing was rather odd. The Greengrass family was not very wealthy in comparison to the Malfoy family. Astoria also showed no interest in Malfoy while they were at Hogwarts. Hermione was astonished when she heard the news. She, like everyone else, assumed that Malfoy would end up with pug-faced Pansy Parkinson. She made quite a spectacle of herself at school following Malfoy around like a lovesick puppy. The Parkinsons were also very wealthy. A great match for the Malfoy elite.

Hermione shook her head. She was here to do a job, not to delve into Malfoy's social life.

"Okay, I understand. Where should I start?"

Hermione sighed and stared into her cup of tea. To his credit, Malfoy really didn't have her doing anything demeaning, just some light cleaning and dusting. Regular maintenance, really. She didn't have to wash dishes or cook food because Malfoy seemed content to take his mother out to eat every night. Fine by her, less that she had to do for him. She was a little surprised that he was paying her so much just to dust his family portraits, though. Not that she was complaining, this job was going to help her out so much. Now if only Ron could get himself together and get his job back at the Ministry.

Ron. Where did everything go wrong? Hermione rested her head in her hands. He used to have so much drive. He used to be so wonderful, so successful. What went wrong? Hermione knew in her gut that what happened was that Ron couldn't deal with the instant fame and fortune, unlike Harry. Harry never had a problem with the fame, and he has always been rather wealthy. The Potters were an ancient pureblood family and actually had quite a small fortune. Hermione instantly felt bad for comparing Ron to Harry. It was unfair for her to do that, even if only mentally. Harry and Ron are two very different people.

Just at that moment, Ron walked into the kitchen and threw the cardboard chicken bucket in the trash bin. He scratched his stomach and looked at Hermione expectantly.

"What did you want to do for dinner tonight?" he asked.

Hermione looked at him with her eyes raised, "Ron, you just ate an entire bucket of chicken."

Ron shrugged.

"Whatever, I just didn't know if you were hungry. What did you do today anyway?"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Ron, I told you that I had that new housekeeping job."

"Oh yeah," Ron replied, "how did that work out? Who are you working for? Some old lady?"

Hermione shifted in her seat. She knew that Ron would react badly if he found out that she was working for Malfoy.

"I am working for a single father and his older mother," she replied.

It technically wasn't a lie.

"Oh. Anyone we know?" He asked.

Hermione squirmed. "No."

Ron yawned. "Did you want to go out for a pizza or something?"

Hermione laughed. "No, I think I will just make myself a sandwich."

Ron smiled and said, "I didn't really want to go out anyway. Let me know if you need anything."

He stared to walk out of the kitchen and stopped. "I'm sorry about the kitchen, by the way. If you want, I can clean it before bed."

Hermione shook her head, "Don't worry about it. I will take care of it."

"Hermione, you're the greatest," Ron said before he left the kitchen.

Hermione frowned. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she felt happy with Ron. They surely hadn't been intimate in a very long time. Hermione expected that their love life would have gotten a second wind, so to speak, as this was Hugo's first year at Hogwarts. This is the first time in 13 years that they had the house to themselves all of the time. She couldn't have been more wrong. On the nights that Ron actually got of the couch and came to their bedroom, he fell into bed and immediately fell asleep. Hermione tried not to dwell on it to often, which was hard, with Ginny sharing all of the intimate details of her life…. At least Hermione knew that Harry did not neglect Ginny in the bedroom.

Hermione looked up at the clock and noticed that it was well past 9 o'clock. She couldn't believe that she had been sitting at the table for 3 hours. She cleaned up her dishes from dinner and quickly _scourgified_ the remaining dishes in the sink. With a flick of her want, they were put away in the cupboards where they belong.

Less than a half of an hour later, Hermione was curled up in bed with one of her favorite books, mentally preparing herself to face Malfoy again the next day.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I am going to try to do a chapter from Malfoy's point of view. I want the readers to know what he is thinking as well. If it doesn't work very well, or if you don't like it, let me know. :)**

**I don't own Harry Potter. Any recognizable characters or plot elements belong to Jo Rowling.**

Draco Malfoy was enjoying his morning tea and reading the _Daily Prophet_ when he heard the owl scratching at the dining room window. He was anxious to see whether or not the bloody editors had gotten around to publishing his ad today. He hadn't even gotten to the classifieds yet and was already cursing whoever had the nerve to correspond with him so early in the morning.

He got up and let the owl in the window. It was a tiny thing with an abundance of energy. He had to practically catch the thing to pull the small scroll off of its leg. As soon as the pigmy owl was free of the burden, it flew out the window and out of Draco's sight. Draco curiously pulled the string off of the scroll and unrolled it. Draco had to read the small piece of parchment three times before the words sank in.

_Hermione Granger asked me for a job!_ Draco laughed aloud. Well, Draco thought, she didn't knowingly ask -me- for a job. The ad was anonymous. He needed someone to do the daily cleaning of the Manor. Draco had recently sent all of the house elves except for Trinkle, the old, and very wise house elf that raised him, one on an extended vacation. He felt that they deserved it after dealing with his father for so many years.

Lucius Malfoy had finally wasted away in Azkaban not two months ago. While the news came to no shock to Draco, and affected him a little less than knowing the current stock exchange, the news was taking quite a toll on Draco's mother. Narcissa Malfoy never gave up on trying to change Lucius for the better. Only Draco knew how deep his devotion to the Dark Lord ran. Lucius would have been a danger to himself and society if he had not been locked away in Azkaban after the fall of the Dark Lord.

After the Final Battle, members of the Order of the Phoenix caught up with the Malfoy family and demanded to know why they fled the Final Battle. Lucius tried to make up some crackpot story about fleeing in fear of the Dark Lord, but the Aurors saw through the lie immediately. Lucius Malfoy was tried by the Wizengamot and sent to Azkaban for his crimes against humanity. It is more than likely that Narcissa and Draco would have followed if it weren't for Harry bloody Potter. Potter testified on behalf of Narcissa and Draco during their trials. Potter told the Wizengamot about how his mother lied to the Dark Lord when he asked if Potter was dead. Potter and his friends, Weaselbee and Granger both testified that Draco changed sides during the final battle and began fighting with the Order. For these reasons, Draco and Narcissa were placed on house arrest for a little over a year, when their sentence was shortened due to good behavior.

Draco stoked his chin, feeling stubble that had grown in since yesterday's shave. He was trying to decide what his course of action was. He knew that Granger's idiot husband had drained their life savings and that they were on the verge of losing their house. Granger needed this job. Draco didn't even know if Granger would still want the job after she found out it was him that would be her boss. But then again, Granger had always been a proud individual. He could see her doing the job with her head held high. With a bit of a smirk, he grabbed his best quill and drafted a reply.

At around 7:45 on Monday morning, Draco saw Granger walking up the walkway towards the Manor. He knew that she married Weasley shortly after she finished up her 7th year at Hogwarts, but Draco couldn't bring himself to refer to her as 'Weasley,' even in his thoughts. He could tell that she was lost deep in thought. All of a sudden, she stopped dead and looked up at the Manor with a terrified look on her face. Her body assumed the stance of a doe that was just about to bound away when Malfoy threw open the foyer door. "Well, if it isn't Hermione Granger," he drawled.

They bantered back and forth for most of the morning. The only hiccup they had was when Granger gave him unwanted condolences for his father's death. His father's death was not something that he really wanted to talk about, especially with the state that his mother was in.

Granger did nothing but surprise Draco throughout the morning. First off, she had no visible reaction to the room in which Bellatrix tortured her endlessly. That surprised Draco more than anything. He had been on the receiving end of one of Bella's crucios more than once. They were nothing to joke about. Granger really didn't seem affected by the haunted memories of the parlor.

Even more surprising was that Granger did not ask about Astoria. This was quite a relief for Draco. Not only did he not want to talk about it, he didn't really want the story leaking to the press. If he had to be completely honest, he was glad that the crazy bitch was out of his life. She didn't care about anything that wasn't money and what everyone else thought of her. It was really no surprise to Draco when she received her letter saying she was moving to Spain to be with her personal trainer. What really infuriated Draco was the nonchalant way in which she referred to their son. She didn't even mention him in her letter. To be honest, Draco would never consider sending Scorpius to stay with the clueless woman. They were both better off without her. Draco was just not looking forward to explaining what happened so Scorpius over the Christmas holiday.

Scorpius. That kid was Draco's whole life. Draco chuckled to himself. It was Scorpius that encouraged Draco to send the house elves on a holiday. After only his first term at Hogwarts he came home talking about house elf rights and something he called 'S.P.E.W.' After a little investigating, Draco found out that Scorpius was spending a lot of his time hanging out with Rose Weasley, who had, it seemed, continued her mother's footsteps in campaigning for better treatment of house elves. "Daddy, they should get to go on vacation or something. All they do is clean our house and fix our food. They deserve more out of life." Draco laughed, but caved in. Scorpius always gets what he wants, at least from his father.

Now, if only his mother showed the same interest in him. Astoria viewed Scorpius as nothing more than a burden from the very first day he spent at home. She was always much more interested in social calls and her looks.

"Draco," she'd whine, "Why did we have to have a baby? All he did was make me fat."

Draco shook his head thinking about it. She always spent most of her time out of the house socializing. It was for this reason that Draco made it his duty to make sure that Scorpius was always happy. Draco always made his way directly to Scorpius' room as soon as he got home from work. Every day, Scorpius would squeal in delight. "Daddy! Daddy, read book peas!" or "Daddy! Pway wif me!"

Astoria had never even been to Scorpius' room, as far as Draco knew. It's a wonder Draco was able to drag Astoria away from her busy social calendar to see Scorpius off to Hogwarts his first year. Even though he wasn't looking forward to telling him that Astoria had left for good, Draco knew that Scorpius would not be heartbroken that his mother was gone.

A loud crash from upstairs jolted Draco from his thoughts. Draco snapped his head up and made his way to his mother's wing of the Manor.

"Mother, are you alright?" Draco called.

"Draco, dear, I'm fine. I just dropped my teakettle. I would have called for another, however, _someone_ sent all of our servants away," Narcissa said teasingly. "Your father will be so angry when he finds out," she added with a smile.

Draco smiled sadly and said, "Yes, mother, he probably will." Narcissa started fiddling with her wedding band.

"I simply cannot wait until he can come home from Azkaban. The Manor is so empty and lonely without him. How long do you think it will be until he can return?"

"I'm not sure, Mother," Draco mumbled. "Why don't I have Trinkle bring you some fresh tea and help you get ready for bed?" Draco suggested.

His mother smiled warmly and nodded her head. "Thank you, Draco."

Draco swiftly left the room. He could not take listening to his mother anymore. Ever since she found out that Lucius had died alone in Azkaban, her mind had not been quite right. She keept forgetting that Lucius is dead. Every time she was told again, she began screaming and had to be sedated. For now, Draco let her live under the delusion that Lucius was alive and would be returning. He didn't have the heart to tell her otherwise.


End file.
